Blended chia fresca
Lately, I've been just short of obsessed with blended icy drinks. The kind you make at home, with little to no sugar, like blended iced tea...or this, chia fresca with coconut water and lime.
Remember that moment of epiphany, when you bought a smoothie and it first struck you that you could make as good or better for about $4 less at home? Or maybe it was a burger, or salad, or whatever analogy works for you. You were probably 14. I'm pretty sure it took me till somewhere in my mid-20s. But the point is, it happened, and I made the economical, healthy change and didn't really go back.
The reason for this mini, not-exactly-nostalgic, moment is, I had another lightening bolt just the other week, when I bought a coffee house blended, unsweetened passion fruit tea. No regrets there--it was all about the atmosphere and the company--but why on earth did it take so long to the explore boundless potential of cold drinks gone wild with ice in the blender? Atlas has an AMAZING green tea and coconut slush I can't ever hope to create, and would gladly pay for most days, but home versions of blended iced chai, or any fruit tea, maybe with a splash of honey or lemon, are also pretty awesome and practically free.
For awhile now, I've been wanting to try out chia fresca, which I'd understood as a simple, refreshing, and good-for-you drink hailing from Mexico, or at least popular in Mexico. My motivation waned, though, when I asked Gaby, who is from Mexico, about it, and she hadn't heard of it. So maybe it wasn't so much Mexican as Mexivention. But I'd read about it from sources I admire, like Oh She Glows among others, so it was still worth a try, regardless.
Since my impressions of a chia fresca are hazy anyway, I figured I may as well keep up the trend with the blender. And use coconut water instead of straight water, because that's another thing I can't seem to get enough of these days. How could the result be anything but slushy in a dreamy, summery kind of way?
Blending your chia seeds may make for a drink that somewhat resembles dirty dishwater, as pictured. I learned the dumb way it probably makes better sense to add the chia seeds after blending up the rest. Either way, though, it's it's still refreshing... in an umbrella-on-top kind of way, even. Plus, it's nutritious, packing in omega-3s, protein, calcium, magnesium, fiber, copper, iron, zinc, and more, thanks to the chia seeds. Not to mention exceptionally hydrating. So worth celebrating, really, you might actually want to throw on the tiny umbrella.
Blended chia fresca
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups coconut water
- generous squeeze (or a couple of squeezes) of lime
- 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon honey, agave, or sweetener of choice (optional)
- 4-5 ice cubes
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds